Network driven actuator mapping agent and bus and method of use

ABSTRACT

A network driven actuator mapping agent is provided. A system includes a sensor configured to sense an event in a first environment. The system also includes an actuator configured to perform an action in a second environment. Moreover, the system further includes a mapping manager configured to map the sensed event to the actuator to provide a custom interaction in the second environment.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention generally relates to a system and method for a mappingagent and, in particular, to a network driven actuator mapping agent andbus and method of use.

BACKGROUND

Artificial intelligence is an area of study that attempts to createintelligent agents, which perceive an environment and take actions inaccordance with their perceptions. A primary objective of artificialintelligence is to make these agents reason and behave like humans inorder to achieve the best possible outcome. To accomplish thisobjective, agents are created that are capable of natural languageprocessing, knowledge representation, automated reasoning, and machinelearning.

Specifically, artificially intelligent agents can be anything that canbe viewed as perceiving its environment through sensors and acting uponthe perceived environment through actuators. The input to the agent maybe perceptual at any given instant or a complete history of everythingthe agent has perceived.

Agents can be rational by perceiving an environment and going though asequence of states to obtain a desired outcome based on the perceivedenvironment. These states may be updated so as to obtain the desiredoutcome even as the environment changes. For example, an environment maybe a chess board. An artificially intelligent agent may perceive wherethe chess pieces are on the board and perform a number of calculationsto determine what action should be taken to ultimately check mate theopponent. Based on these calculations, the agent may perform an action,e.g., using an actuator. In response, the opponent may perform anaction. The agent can sense the changed environment that is brought onby the opponent's action and calculate the next move based on changedenvironment.

SUMMARY

In a first aspect of the invention, a system comprises at least onesensor configured to sense an event in a first environment and anactuator configured to perform an action in a second environment. Thesystem also comprises a mapping manager configured to map the sensedevent to the actuator to provide a custom interaction throughout aplurality of second environments.

In another aspect of the invention, a computer implemented method for amapping agent comprises sensing at least one event in a firstenvironment and mapping the at least one sensed event to an actuatorconfigured to perform an action in one or more second environments,wherein the mapping is independent from the one or more secondenvironments.

In yet another aspect of the invention, a computer program productcomprising a computer usable medium having readable program codeembodied in the medium is provided. The computer program productincludes at least one component operable to: receive one or more eventsthat are sensed in a first environment; receive information from atleast one of a cardinality manager, a constraints manager, a proximitymanager, and a synchronization manager; and determine an actuator toperform at least one action based on the received one or more events andthe received information, wherein the at least one action is performedin one or more second environments.

In a further aspect of the invention, a method for a mapping agent,comprises providing a computer infrastructure being operable to: senseone or more events in a first environment and perform a mapping usingthe one or more sensed events and information received from one or moreof a cardinality manager, a constraints manager, a proximity manager,and a synchronization manager, wherein the mapping is configured to mapthe one or more sensed events to an actuator.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention is described in the detailed description whichfollows, in reference to the noted plurality of drawings by way ofnon-limiting examples of exemplary embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 1 shows an illustrative environment for implementing the steps inaccordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 shows an exemplary system in accordance with aspects of theinvention;

FIG. 3 shows an exemplary build time process in accordance with aspectsof the invention; and

FIG. 4 shows an exemplary run time process in accordance with aspects ofthe invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The invention is directed to a system and method for a mapping agentand, in particular, to a network driven actuator mapping agent and busand method of use. The invention provides the ability to execute actionsin a first environment and have those actions reflected in modifiableways in a second environment. The first and second environments may bereal world environments and/or simulated environments. In embodimentsthe actions may be multi-behavioral.

More specifically, the present invention includes one or more sensorsconfigured to sense real world environments and/or simulatedenvironments and trigger actions from actuators, which are configured toperform actions based on a sensed environment. The determination of whatactuator should be used to perform an action may be made using one ormore managers, including a mapping manager. The mapping manager may beused to combine sensors and actuators via mappings to provide custominteractions based on the sensed environment and/or other inputs. Inembodiments, hierarchies of sensors and/or actuators may be supported toallow combinations of sensors and actuators to behave in a coordinatedmanner.

For example, one or more sensors may be used to sense voice commands,gestures, and/or other events. These sensed events may be mapped onto anactuator, which performs actions based on the sensed events. Inembodiments, these actions may be influenced by proximities and/orconstraints of an environment as well as what actions are available tothe actuator. By mapping sensed events onto an actuator, the presentinvention beneficially allows for customized interactions withoutexpensive development costs.

A mapping manager, which maps an event onto an actuator, may sit on anetwork between a stimulator and an actuator and be used to bind and mapstimulator actions to actuator results. In embodiments, the stimulatoractions may be tied to and/or provided by actuator scripts. By using asingle mapping manager as described herein, the present invention maypreclude the need to develop custom mappings and allow actuators to beconnected to stimulators without custom developments. Moreover, by usinga single mapping manager, which may comprise one or more properties, thepresent invention beneficially allows actuators to be bound to manydifferent stimulators and also allows actuator behavior to be scripteddirectly by end users, thereby allowing end users to create their ownactuator results based on provided stimulations.

System Environment

As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, the present inventionmay be embodied as a system, method or computer program product.Accordingly, the present invention may take the form of an entirelyhardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment (includingfirmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.) or an embodimentcombining software and hardware aspects that may all generally bereferred to herein as a “circuit,” “module” or “system.” Furthermore,the present invention may take the form of a computer program productembodied in any tangible medium of expression having computer-usableprogram code embodied in the medium.

Any combination of one or more computer usable or computer readablemedium(s) may be utilized. The computer-usable or computer-readablemedium may be, for example but not limited to, an electronic, magnetic,optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus,device, or propagation medium. More specific examples (a non-exhaustivelist) of the computer-readable medium would include the following:

-   -   a portable computer diskette,    -   a hard disk,    -   a random access memory (RAM),    -   a read-only memory (ROM),    -   an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash        memory),    -   a portable compact disc read-only memory (CDROM),    -   an optical storage device,    -   a transmission media such as those supporting the Internet or an        intranet, and/or    -   a magnetic storage device.        The computer-usable or computer-readable medium could even be        paper or another suitable medium upon which the program is        printed, as the program can be electronically captured, via, for        instance, optical scanning of the paper or other medium, then        compiled, interpreted, or otherwise processed in a suitable        manner, if necessary, and then stored in a computer memory.

In the context of this document, a computer-usable or computer-readablemedium may be any medium that can contain, store, communicate,propagate, or transport the program for use by or in connection with theinstruction execution system, apparatus, or device. The computer usableprogram code may be transmitted using any appropriate transmission mediavia a network.

Computer program code for carrying out operations of the presentinvention may be written in any combination of one or more programminglanguages, including an object oriented programming language such asJava, Smalltalk, C++ or the like and conventional procedural programminglanguages, such as the “C” programming language or similar programminglanguages. The program code may execute entirely on the user's computer,partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alone software package, partlyon the user's computer and partly on a remote computer or entirely onthe remote computer or server. In the latter scenario, the remotecomputer may be connected to the user's computer through any type ofnetwork. This may include, for example, a local area network (LAN) or awide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to an externalcomputer (for example, through the Internet using an Internet ServiceProvider).

FIG. 1 shows an illustrative environment 10 for managing the processesin accordance with the invention. To this extent, the environment 10includes a computer infrastructure 12 that can perform the processesdescribed herein. In particular, the computer infrastructure 12 includesa computing device 14 that comprises one or more sensors 40, one or moreactuators 45, and one or more managers 50.

The one or more sensors 40 are configured to sense events in a realworld environment and/or in a simulated environment. In embodiments, thesensors 40 may include a monitoring engine 55 configured to aid thesensors 40 in recognizing one or more activities or events in the realworld environment and/or in a simulated environment. Exemplaryactivities or events may include voice commands, gestures, etc., thatcan be used to measure a physical or observable quantity and convert themeasured quantity into a signal which can be understood by the computingdevice 14.

The one or more actuators 45 are configured to perform an action in areal world environment and/or a simulated environment based on the oneor more sensed events. In particular, the actuators 45 may include anynumber of components that are configured to communicate with and/or actupon anything in a real world environment and/or a simulatedenvironment. Exemplary communications may occur visually, audibly,and/or via actions taken by the actuator 45 or an agent comprising theactuator 45. In embodiments, the actuators 45 may include a monitoringengine 60 configured to track actions performed by the actuator 45 andprovide feedback to, e.g., a mapping manger.

The one or more managers 50 may include a mapping manager, which isconfigured to map events that are sensed by the one or more sensors 40onto an actuator 45. The mapping process may be performed using one ormore actuator scripts, which may be predefined and/or defined by a user16. In embodiments, additional managers 50 may also be used by thesensors 40, actuators 45, and/or in conjunction with the mappingmanager. Exemplary managers 50 may include a cardinality manager, aconstraints manager, a proximity manager, a synchronization manager, ascripts manager, etc. These managers 50 are described in more detailbelow. The sensors 40, actuators 45, and managers 50 may be compiled bythe program code.

The computing device 14 also includes a processor 20, the memory 22A, anI/O interface 24, and a bus 26. The memory 22A can include local memoryemployed during actual execution of program code, bulk storage, andcache memories which provide temporary storage of at least some programcode in order to reduce the number of times code must be retrieved frombulk storage during execution.

The computing device 14 is in further communication with the externalI/O device/resource 28 and the storage system 22B. For example, the I/Odevice 28 can comprise any device that enables an individual to interactwith the computing device 14 or any device that enables the computingdevice 14 to communicate with one or more other computing devices usingany type of communications link. The external I/O device/resource 28 maybe keyboards, displays, pointing devices, microphones, headsets, etc.

In general, the processor 20 executes computer program code, which isstored in the memory 22A, a read-only memory (ROM) 25, random accessmemory (RAM) 26, storage 27, and/or storage system 22B. The computercode may be representative of the functionality of the sensors 40,actuators 45, and/or managers 50. While executing computer program code,the processor 20 can read and/or write data to/from memory 22A, storagesystem 22B, and/or I/O interface 24. The program code executes theprocesses of the invention. The bus 26 provides a communications linkbetween each of the components in the computing device 14.

The computing device 14 can comprise any general purpose computingarticle of manufacture capable of executing computer program codeinstalled thereon (e.g., a personal computer, server, handheld device,etc.). However, it is understood that the computing device 14 is onlyrepresentative of various possible equivalent computing devices that mayperform the processes described herein. To this extent, in embodiments,the functionality provided by the computing device 14 can be implementedby a computing article of manufacture that includes any combination ofgeneral and/or specific purpose hardware and/or computer program code.In each embodiment, the program code and hardware can be created usingstandard programming and engineering techniques, respectively.

Similarly, the server 12 is only illustrative of various types ofcomputer infrastructures for implementing the invention. For example, inembodiments, the server 12 comprises two or more computing devices(e.g., a server cluster) that communicate over any type ofcommunications link, such as a network, a shared memory, or the like, toperform the processes described herein. Further, while performing theprocesses described herein, one or more computing devices on the server12 can communicate with one or more other computing devices external tothe server 12 using any type of communications link. The communicationslink can comprise any combination of wired and/or wireless links; anycombination of one or more types of networks (e.g., the Internet, a widearea network, a local area network, a virtual private network, etc.);and/or utilize any combination of transmission techniques and protocols.

In embodiments, the invention provides a business method that performsthe steps of the invention on a subscription, advertising, and/or feebasis. That is, a service provider, such as a Solution Integrator, couldoffer to perform the processes described herein. In this case, theservice provider can create, maintain, deploy, support, etc., a computerinfrastructure that performs the process steps of the invention for oneor more customers. In return, the service provider can receive paymentfrom the customer(s) under a subscription and/or fee agreement and/orthe service provider can receive payment from the sale of advertisingcontent to one or more third parties.

Exemplary System

As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, the present inventionmay be embodied as a system, method or computer program product.Accordingly, the present invention may take the form of an entirelyhardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment (includingfirmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.) or an embodimentcombining software and hardware aspects that may all generally bereferred to herein as a “circuit,” “module” or “system.” Furthermore,the present invention may take the form of a computer program productembodied in any tangible medium of expression having computer-usableprogram code embodied in the medium.

Any combination of one or more computer usable or computer readablemedium(s) may be utilized. The computer-usable or computer-readablemedium may be, for example but not limited to, an electronic, magnetic,optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus,device, or propagation medium. More specific examples (a non-exhaustivelist) of the computer-readable medium would include the following: anelectrical connection having one or more wires, a portable computerdiskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory(ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flashmemory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disc read-only memory(CDROM), an optical storage device, a transmission media such as thosesupporting the Internet or an intranet, or a magnetic storage device.Note that the computer-usable or computer-readable medium could even bepaper or another suitable medium upon which the program is printed, asthe program can be electronically captured, via, for instance, opticalscanning of the paper or other medium, then compiled, interpreted, orotherwise processed in a suitable manner, if necessary, and then storedin a computer memory. In the context of this document, a computer-usableor computer-readable medium may be any medium that can contain, store,communicate, propagate, or transport the program for use by or inconnection with the instruction execution system, apparatus, or device.The computer-usable medium may include a propagated data signal with thecomputer-usable program code embodied therewith, either in baseband oras part of a carrier wave. The computer usable program code may betransmitted using any appropriate medium, including but not limited towireless, wireline, optical fiber cable, RF, etc.

FIG. 2 shows an exemplary system according to embodiments of theinvention. In particular, FIG. 2 includes one or more sensors 40, one ormore actuators 45, and a mapping manager 200 configured to map eventsthat are sensed by the one or more sensors 40 onto an actuator 45. FIG.2 also includes a number of additional managers that may be used by thesensors 40, the actuators 45, and/or in conjunction with the mappingmanager 200. The managers may include, e.g., a cardinality manager 210,a constraints manager 220, a proximity manager 230, a synchronizationmanager 240, and a script manager 250. FIG. 2 also illustrates a realworld environment 270 and one or more simulated environments 280. Thesimulated environments 280 may include virtual universes, virtualreality simulations, etc.

The sensors 40 illustrated in FIG. 2 are configured to sense one or moreactions in a real world environment and/or in a simulated environment.Sensors 40 may be stand alone, associated with one or more objects,and/or an object in and of itself. A variety of types of sensors 40 maybe used in the present invention to measure optical, thermal,mechanical, etc., changes. For example, one or more of the followingsensors may be used in embodiments of the present invention: lightsensors, infra-red sensors, proximity sensors, fiber optic sensors,light emitting diodes, scanning lasers, pressure sensors, RADAR,humidity sensors, sound sensors, motion sensors, orientation sensors,distance sensors, etc. In embodiments, a monitoring engine may be usedto monitor activity and feed the activity to the sensor.

In embodiments, the cardinality manager 210, the constraints manager220, the proximity manager 230, the synchronization manager 240, and/orthe script manager 250 may be used by the sensors as well as by themapping manager 200 and the actuators 45. The cardinality manager 210may be used to determine what and/or how many sensors are associatedwith an object, how many objects are in an area, etc. The number ofsensors associated with an object may be a one-to-one, many-to-many,one-to-many, many-to-one, etc., relationship. In embodiments, theinformation obtained by the cardinality manager 210 may be stored asmetadata. By using the cardinality manager 210, it is possible to definethe possible set of objects that may be affected by a sensed actionand/or event.

The constraints manager 220 may be used to determine one or moreconstraints that may exist based on real world or simulatedenvironmental conditions and store the obtained information as metadata.For example, the constraints manager 220 may identify the type ofenvironment in which an action is being performed. The type ofenvironment may be a real world environment 270 and/or any number ofsimulated environments 280. In embodiments, the constraints manager 220may track one or more conditions within the environment such as, e.g.,gravity, physical limitations, time limitations, gestures, etc. Thisinformation can be used to determine whether an action performed in afirst environment can be mapped onto an action in a second environment,which may have different environmental constraints. Understandably,changes in constraints between environments may alter what is sensedand/or the behavior of an object.

For example, a person or a representation of a person in a firstsimulated environment may be able to fly. However, that same person maynot be able to fly in a second simulated or a real world environment 270due to forces of gravity. The constraints manager 220 may keep track ofconditions, such as gravity, which would influence the ability of theperson to fly in the second environment. In embodiments, thisinformation can be sent to a mapping manager 200, which can make surethat the person's flying action does not get mapped into an environmentwhere the person is not capable of flying. This may be performed, e.g.,by voiding those actions that are impossible in an alternativeenvironment and/or by providing a modified or alternative action to takeinstead of the impossible action.

The proximity manager 230 is configured to detect what objects areproximate to the sensed object. This may include a determination of whatobjects are physically near the sensed object, the type of objects thatare proximate to the sensed object, and/or the context of the object. Inembodiments, the physicality, type, and/or context of proximate objectsmay be used, e.g., by the mapping manager 200 to determine whether oneor more mappings should be applied to objects proximate to the sensedobject in addition to the sensed object itself.

The proximity manager 230 may determine the physicality of an objectusing the physical location or nearness of the object or sensor to thesensed object. Nearness may be measured differently between simulationsand embodiments. For example, in embodiments, nearness may be anydistance calculated to be affected by a sensed action or event.

The proximity manager 230 may determine the type of objects that areproximate to the sensed object. In embodiments, the same type of objectsmay behave certain ways when they are near objects of the same type. Forexample, similar objects near one another may act the same, different,or even opposite one another.

The proximity manager 230 may also determine the context of anenvironment, where sensors are at in the environment, etc. Inembodiments, the context may be used when defining one or morerelationships between objects. The physicality, type, and/or context ofthe proximity manager 230 may be used, e.g., by the mapping manager 200to avoid requiring that the relationships be hard coded.

The synchronization manager 240 may be used to synchronously orasynchronously drive an action. For example, the synchronization manager240 may receive one or more actions that need to be performed anddetermine the timing required to perform the one or more actions. Inembodiments, the synchronization manager 240 may also determine theorder in which one or more of the actions should be performed. The ordermay be performed using, e.g., a queuing structure.

The synchronization manager 240 may also monitor actions and/or feedbackfrom actions. This may be performed, e.g., using the sensors 40, mappingmanager 200, actuators 45, etc. In embodiments, this information may beused to determine whether the actions are occurring as scripted.

The information from the cardinality manager 210, the constraintsmanager 220, the proximity manager 230, and/or the synchronizationmanager 240 may be used to determine what mapping should be used on anaction or event that is sensed by the one or more sensors 40. Moreover,actions and or events that are sensed by one or more sensors may be sentto the mapping manager 200.

More specifically, the mapping manager 200 includes logic (program code)that is configured to receive actions from the one or more sensors 45and take inputs from the managers 210, 220, 230, and 240. Thisinformation is used to determine which actuator should be used toperform an action. The knowledge of what actuator should be chosen maybe based on actuator 45 properties, constraints, and/or proximities thatmay be provided to the mapping manager 200 by one or more actuators 45.Once an actuator 45 is chosen, the mapping manager 200 may bind theactuator 45 properties in real time. In embodiments, one or more of theproperties may also be cached so as to reduce the number of times theproperties need be accessed, thereby increasing network performance.Moreover, the stimulators may invoke the actuators using one or moreself defined protocols from the actuator.

Any number of mappings may be used to determine which actuator 45 touse. In embodiments, one or more of these mappings may be stored aspersistent data in a database (storage system 22A) that is associatedwith the mapping manager 200. Exemplary mappings may include lossy,lossless, or abstraction mappings. One or more lossy mappings may beused to determine what actuator 45 should perform an action. Lossymappings analyze the information received from the sensors 45 and theinputs from the managers 210, 220, 230, and 240 and discard or ignoreinformation that does not have a noticeable affect on determining anactuator 45. By ignoring pieces of information, lossy mappings allow thereceived information to be reduced and/or condensed to create a moreefficient result.

For example, if a stick hits a plurality of leaves on a tree, lossymappings may use the movement of a subset of the leaves to represent themovement of all of the leaves and disregard the rest of the movements.Similarly, if a person in a simulated environment teleports to a far offplanet, which cannot be mapped into a real world environment due tophysical constraints, lossy mapping may ignore the teleportationinformation due to actuator constraints.

While embodiments contemplate the use of lossy mappings, losslessmappings may also be used to determine what actuator 45 should performan action. Lossless mappings maintain the information in whole and donot discard or ignore pieces of information received from sensors 40 ormanagers 210, 220, 230, and 240.

Abstraction mappings may also be used to determine what actuator 45should perform an action. Abstraction mappings generalize informationreceived from sensors 40 and/or managers 210, 220, 230, and 240 byreducing the content of the received information into a concept or anobservable phenomenon. For example, when an actuator 45 is unable toperform all of the tasks needed, abstraction mappings may be used toabstract what the actuator 45 can do and provide a mapping in accordancewith the actuator's abilities.

For example, a sensor 40 may detect a person making a face in a realworld environment 270, however, the detected face may not be recognizedin one or more simulated environments 280. Rather than having tohardcode the face into each one of the many possible environments, themapping manager 200 may abstract the face to reduce the amount ofinformation conveyed about the emotional state of the person making theface. Once a mapping is performed, the mapping manager 200 may send theinformation resulting from the mapping to an actuator 45, which iscapable of performing an appropriate action.

The actuator 45 is configured to perform an action in a real worldenvironment 270 and/or a simulated environment 280. More specifically,the actuator 45 receives information from the mapping manager 200 and/orone or more managers 210, 220, 230, and 240. In embodiments, theactuator 45 may send one or more pieces of the received information to ascript manager 250, which is configured to apply one or more scriptsbased on the received information.

The script manager 250 includes one or more scripts that may be used todetermine what action and/or sequence of actions should be performed bythe actuator 45 to obtain a desired outcome. The scripts may bepredefined and/or created by one or more users, administrators, etc. Forexample, a user may define one or more scripts that cause an actuator toperform stimulator actions, such as spoken words, simulated gestures,etc., when a certain event is sensed by the sensors 40. In embodiments,scripts may be specific to an actuator 45 and/or used in a plurality ofactuators. Scripts may also be used in a plurality of environments 270and 280.

The actuator 45 may receive a translated action and/or sequence ofactions from the script manager 250, which details which actions toperform. In embodiments, the actuator 45 may also include a monitoringengine to track the actions and provide feedback to the mapping manger50. The feedback may show, e.g., a resultant action based on thestimulation.

By using the mapping manager 200 and applying one or more scripts, asensor 40 can be bound to an actuator 45 throughout one or more realworld environments and/or simulated environments. Moreover, by using thepresent invention, actions and/or events may be performed throughout anynumber of environments without requiring additional hardcoding. Thisbeneficially provides a dynamic approach to linking actions in a firstenvironment to a second environment without limiting the functionalityof the action and/or event.

An illustrative example of how the sensor 40, managers 210, 220, 230,240, 250 and 50, and actuator 45 may interact is provided herein for amore comprehensive understanding of the invention. Specifically, supposea person is swinging a stick in a simulated environment 280. Sensors 40may be placed on the stick and/or in objects surrounding the stick.These sensors 40 may be used to determine the position of the stick inthe simulated environment 280. The cardinality manager 210 may be usedto determine how many objects are surrounding the stick. The constraintsmanager 220 may be used to determine what kind of forces are acting uponthe stick and whether the forces can be mapped into a differentenvironment such as a real world environment 270 and/or a simulatedenvironment 280. The proximity manager 230 may determine what objects,such as tree leaves, a puddle of water, etc., may be around and/oraffected by the stick as it is being swung. In embodiments, likeobjects, such as leaves may move in a similar manner after being hit bythe stick. The synchronization manager 230 may determine the timing ofwhen, e.g., the stick hits the tree leaves, whether the tree leaves movewhen they are hit, whether all leaves in the tree move at the same timeor after a predefined time so as to produce a rippling effect, etc. Thisinformation may be sent to the mapping manager 200, where it is used todetermine which actuator 45 should be used to perform an action.

In embodiments, information obtained from the managers 210, 220, 230,and 240 may be sent to a script manager 250, which includes applicablescripts for the actuator 45. These scripts may be user or enterprisedefined and may be used to define what action the actuator 45 shouldperform, how the performance should occur, the timing of theperformance, etc. Thus, the script manager 250 may be used to instructthe actuator 45 as to how to swing the stick in a second simulatedenvironment 280 or in a real world environment 270 so as to produce thesame or a similar result.

Exemplary Implementation of the System

The present invention is described below with reference to flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems) andcomputer program products according to embodiments of the invention. Itwill be understood that each block of the flowchart illustrations and/orblock diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented by computerprogram instructions. These computer program instructions may beprovided to a processor of a general purpose computer, special purposecomputer, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce amachine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor ofthe computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, createmeans for implementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchartand/or block diagram block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in acomputer-readable medium that can direct a computer or otherprogrammable data processing apparatus to function in a particularmanner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readablemedium produce an article of manufacture including instruction meanswhich implement the function/act specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks.

The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer orother programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series ofoperational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmableapparatus to produce a computer implemented process such that theinstructions which execute on the computer or other programmableapparatus provide processes for implementing the functions/actsspecified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.

The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate thearchitecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementationsof systems, methods and computer program products according to variousembodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in theflowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portionof code, which comprises one or more executable instructions forimplementing the specified logical function(s). It should also be notedthat, in some alternative implementations, the functions noted in theblock may occur out of the order noted in the figures. For example, twoblocks shown in succession may, in fact, be executed substantiallyconcurrently, or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverseorder, depending upon the functionality involved. It will also be notedthat each block of the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, andcombinations of blocks in the block diagrams and/or flowchartillustration, can be implemented by special purpose hardware-basedsystems that perform the specified functions or acts, or combinations ofspecial purpose hardware and computer instructions.

FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary build time process according toembodiments of the invention. At step 300, one or more sensors and/oractuators may be developed. For example, a motion sensor may bedeveloped to detect movements in the real world and/or in a simulatedenvironment. The sensor detected motions may be transferred to anactuator, which is configured to perform motions in the real worldand/or in a simulated environment.

At step 310, one or more mapping rules may be developed. The mappingrules may be based off of lossy mappings, lossless mappings, and/orabstraction mappings. At step 320, constraints may be defined. Theconstraints may be logical and/or physical constraints that exist in thereal world and/or a simulated environment. In embodiments, one or morescripts may also be developed, at step 330. The scripts may bepredefined by, e.g., a system or a user, and may include a set of rulesthat define what action should be performed by the actuator. At step340, one or more of the mappings and/or scripts may be cached for futureuse.

FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary run time process according toembodiments of the invention. More specifically, at step 400, one ormore sensors are configured to react to simulated or real events actionswithin an environment. At step 410, information relating to a physical,type, and/or contextual proximity may be checked along with constraintsthat may be applicable given the sensed events or actions.

At step 420, information obtained from the sensors and/or informationrelated to proximity or constraints may be used to engage the mappingengine. The mapping engine may use one or more mappings, such as lossy,lossless, or abstraction mappings to determine what actuator(s) shouldbe engaged, at step 430. At step 440, the engaged actuator(s) may accessone or more scripts to determine how to translate actions based on thecontext of the received information.

While the invention has been described in terms of embodiments, thoseskilled in the art will recognize that the invention can be practicedwith modifications and in the spirit and scope of the appended claims.Additionally, the terminology used herein is for the purpose ofdescribing particular embodiments only and is not intended to belimiting of the invention. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an”and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless thecontext clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood thatthe terms “comprises” and/or “comprising,” when used in thisspecification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps,operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude thepresence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps,operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.

The corresponding structures, materials, acts, and equivalents of allmeans or step plus function elements in the claims, if applicable, areintended to include any structure, material, or act for performing thefunction in combination with other claimed elements as specificallyclaimed. The description of the present invention has been presented forpurposes of illustration and description, but is not intended to beexhaustive or limited to the invention in the form disclosed. Manymodifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skillin the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention.The embodiment was chosen and described in order to best explain theprinciples of the invention and the practical application, and to enableothers of ordinary skill in the art to understand the invention forvarious embodiments with various modifications as are suited to theparticular use contemplated. Accordingly, while the invention has beendescribed in terms of embodiments, those of skill in the art willrecognize that the invention can be practiced with modifications and inthe spirit and scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system for mapping interactions betweenenvironments, comprising: at least one sensor configured to sense anevent in a first environment; a plurality of actuators configured toperform an action in any of a plurality of second environments; and amapping manager configured to: use one or more mappings to determine oneof the plurality of actuators to be engaged; map the sensed event ontothe engaged actuator to provide a custom interaction throughout theplurality of second environments; determine that the engaged actuator ofthe plurality of actuators is unable to perform a first actioncorresponding to the sensed event; and perform a mapping for the engagedactuator of the plurality of actuators, the mapping comprising reducingcontent of the sensed event into a second action which the engagedactuator is able to perform in response to the engaged actuator beingunable to perform the first action corresponding to the sensed event,wherein the reducing the content of the sensed event into the secondaction is performed by abstracting the first action corresponding to thesensed event into an observable phenomenon such that an amount ofinformation of the first action corresponding to the sensed event isreduced to the observable phenomenon.
 2. The system of claim 1, whereinthe first environment and the plurality of second environments are oneof a real world environment and a simulated environment, and the engagedactuator of the plurality of actuators is unable to perform the firstaction corresponding to the sensed event in one environment of thesecond environments.
 3. The system of claim 1, wherein the mappingmanager is on a network between a stimulator and the engaged actuatorand is configured to obtain inputs from the at least one sensor and oneor more of a cardinality manager, a constraints manager, a proximitymanager, and a synchronization manager.
 4. The system of claim 3,wherein the cardinality manager is configured to determine how many ofthe at least one sensor is in an area and how many of the at least onesensor is associated with an object.
 5. The system of claim 3, whereinthe constraints manager is configured to track one or more conditionswithin the first environment and the plurality of second environments,and information obtained by the cardinality manager is stored asmetadata.
 6. The system of claim 3, wherein the proximity manager isconfigured to determine a physicality of an object using the at leastone sensor, a type of the object, and a context of an environment of theobject.
 7. The system of claim 3, wherein the synchronization manager isconfigured to determine one or more of a timing required to perform oneor more actions and an order for performing the one or more actionsusing a queuing structure.
 8. The system of claim 3, wherein theconstraints manager determines one or more constraints that exist basedon real world or simulated environmental conditions and stores obtainedinformation corresponding to the one or more constraints as metadata. 9.The system of claim 8, wherein: the event is an action in the firstenvironment; and the constraints manager identifies a type ofenvironment in which the action is being performed and tracks one ormore conditions within the first environment including gravity, physicallimitations, time limitations, and gestures.
 10. The system of claim 9,wherein the constraints manager uses the tracked one or more conditionsto determine whether the action performed in the first environment canbe mapped onto the action in the second environments, which hasdifferent environmental constraints and provides an alternative actionto perform in response to the action being unable to be mapped onto theaction in the second environments.
 11. The system of claim 10, whereinthe mapping manager maps the event onto the engaged actuator, binds andmaps stimulator actions to actuator results and the stimulator actionsare provided by actuator scripts.
 12. The system of claim 1, wherein themapping manager is configured to perform at least one of a lossy mappingto discard information that does not have a noticeable effect ondetermining one of the plurality of actuators to be engaged, a losslessmapping to maintain all of the information received from the at leastone sensor, and an abstraction mapping to determine one of the pluralityof actuators to be engaged.
 13. The system of claim 1, wherein themapping the sensed event onto the engaged actuator further comprisessending inputs to a script manager which includes a corresponding scriptfor the engaged actuator to instruct the engaged actuator to provide thecustom interaction including a same result throughout the secondenvironments as the event, and the script manager is further configuredto determine an action or a sequence of actions to be performed toprovide the custom interaction.
 14. The system of claim 13, wherein thecorresponding script is defined by a user and includes an action theengaged actuator performs and a timing of the action the engagedactuator performs.
 15. The system of claim 14, wherein the at least onesensor comprises a monitoring engine configured to measure a physicalquantity of the event and convert the measured physical quantity into asignal which is input to the mapping manager, each of the actuatorscomprises a monitoring engine configured to track a plurality of actionsperformed by each of the actuators and provide feedback to the mappingmanager, and the script manager comprises a plurality of correspondingscripts for the actuators.
 16. The system of claim 1, wherein the systemis implemented on a computing infrastructure which includes the at leastone sensor, the plurality of actuators, and one of more managers whichcomprises the mapping manager.
 17. The system of claim 1, wherein the atleast one sensor is further configured to sense a plurality of voicecommands which are mapped onto the engaged actuator to perform an actionbased on the sensed voice commands.
 18. The system of claim 17, whereinthe at least one sensor is further configured to sense a plurality ofvoice gestures which are mapped onto the engaged actuator to perform anaction based on the sensed voice gestures.
 19. The system of claim 1,wherein the plurality of second environments comprises a virtualuniverse and a virtual reality simulation, and the engaged actuator ofthe plurality of actuators is able to perform the second actioncorresponding to the sensed event in one of the second environments. 20.The system of claim 19, wherein the mapping manger is further configuredto bind and cache at least one actuator property of the engaged actuatorin real time to reduce a number of times the at least one actuatorproperty is accessed.